GOSPEL choir Joyous Celebration celebrates 30 years of changing artists' lives.
Over the years, the iconic gospel music powerhouse has become a platform for discovering and nurturing raw talent, producing some of the genre's biggest names.
Some of the names include Ntokozo Mbambo, Xolly Mncwango, SbuNoah, Puleng March, Ncebakazi Msomi, and Nqubeko Mbatha, among others, who continue to shape the industry.
To mark this incredible milestone, Joyous Celebration will embark on a nationwide tour, performing in cities and towns while searching for raw talent.
Founder Lindelani Mkhize told Daily Sun reaching three decades feels "almost unbelievable".
"It's like when we woke up and we were here. I'm like, 30 years can be this short. Because I guess when you are moving forward and building, you don't feel time. But the 30 years have been filled with a lot of goodness, a lot of love. Most importantly, I really saw it changing people's lives and building careers," he said.
Lindelani said the choir's success over the years has not only been about the founders but everyone who has played a role in building the platform.
"I think what actually made it's the fact that almost everyone was involved. It was not only us, the three gentlemen. It was more than that. All the souls and the people who came to participate, be it being on the stage, be it those who were found and developed by the platform, on the singing side of things, on the production side of things, on the creative side of things, on the fashion side of things, on all elements of it.
"And most of all, the ones who were consuming the music, who were listening to the music, who watched the videos, who bought the music from when we had CDs up to now as we stream. People sat at home every Christmas Day and watched Joyous Celebration," he said.
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To mark the 30-year milestone, the choir's tour kicks off with a major show at the Joburg Theatre from 30 April to 4 May.
"For year 30, we are inviting everyone, whether you listened when you were young, whether you listened in your middle age, or whether you discovered us later in life. If your paths have crossed somehow with Joyous Celebration's, we are inviting everyone to be part of this milestone," said Lindelani.
"We have plans of going all over the country and most parts of the continent. We are talking about visiting areas that ordinarily we wouldn't be able to go to. As Joyous Celebration, we are known to go to major towns or cities, but this time we are even adding towns that ordinarily we wouldn't be able to visit."
Looking ahead, Lindelani said Joyous Celebration's mission remains the same: to give new talent a platform.
"Joyous Celebration has always been about introducing young talent, introducing unknown raw talent and helping them grow. So, if you know that we are coming to your town and you think you have what it takes to be part of Joyous Celebration or the bigger gospel industry, come to those auditions when we come to your place," he said.
"That's what we do. We work with fresh raw talent, and we want to continue doing that for many years to come."
